Gravity (2013)

At least there aren't any sharks in space.  Well, at least that we know of...

I bring up the sharks thing because I heard a lot of people comparing Gravity to Open Water.  While there's some similarity between the two, they really are much different films.  Since Open Water is based on real events you get a bigger feeling of dread, as you know from the beginning how it was going to turn out.  At least with Gravity there are glimmers of hope.  If there ever could be a movie like Gravity that was based off real events, I hope it doesn't happen until after we invent transporters or warp drive or something.

Engineer Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) are on a spacewalk while working on the Hubble.  Houston advises them that a Russian satellite has exploded but it's initially not a concern.  However, the debris has collided with another satellite and now it's heading directly for them.  There's no time to return to Explorer before they are hit.  The shuttle is destroyed stranding Kowalski and Stone, and communication with Houston is cut off as well.  Short on fuel and oxygen, they are left to find a way to the International Space Station.  As if things weren't bad enough, the debris field is travelling at high speed as it orbits Earth and is expected back every 90 minutes.

This pretty much sums up just the first ten minutes of Gravity, which is mercifully only 90 minutes.  I say "mercifully" because I don't think I would have been able to take much more.  I don't usually bite my nails, but I might have taken them down to the nubs.  Nearly everything that can go wrong does, and you desperately want them to catch a break.  There's a part towards the end where I feared something else horrible was going to happen, but I was letting my imagination get the better of me.  Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything.  In fact, that's all I'm really going to say about the story, as it didn't play out exactly like I thought it might.  Friends of mine can tell you how I've been angry that I thought the trailers were showing too much.  Fortunately, I didn't find that to actually be the case.

Gravity is being praised for it's scientific accuracy, but director Alfonso Cuarón admits that there are some inaccuracies.  I'm no rocket scientist, so I didn't notice these things, but they're there if you're looking for them.  I imagine that most are excited that the outer space scenes have no sound in them.  This lack of sound makes all the destruction that much more terrifying.  Imagine being surrounded by exploding satellites and shuttles without knowing it was happening unless you were looking directly at them.  I guess that would be kind of like how a shark would totally sneak up on you in the water.  You also get a real feeling for the lack resistance in space with how fast everything is going.  The slightest misstep or mistake and you're screwed.  I'm not sure how the anti-gravity scenes were done, but this is the kind of film I'm really looking forward to some kind of "making of" feature on the Blu-Ray.

The muted scenes and physics reminded me of the battle sequences in the modern Battlestar Galactica.  Gravity is punctuated with an eerie sci-fi score that really stood out.  The score by Steven Price is likely my favorite of the year and I'll be disappointed if he doesn't receive any love come awards-time.

Gravity is an absolutely beautiful movie.  I usually don't make note of a cinematographer, but Emmanuel Lubezki did some fantastic work here.  This is one of the few films I've seen that's definitely worthy of the IMAX format.  Even the 3D was very immersive and not distracting.  If you have a theater that offers IMAX or another premium format, like RPX, do not hesitate to spend the extra few bucks or wait until a showtime is available.

I don't know what else can be said about Alfonso Cuarón at this point.  I've loved everything I've seen of his so far.  He's an extraordinary director.  I really love how he resisted making this a spectacle of loud explosions.  That fact alone makes this a smarter sci-fi movie that avoids feeling like a blockbuster.

Lastly, I loved George Clooney and Sandra Bullock in their roles.  Clooney still gets to show his wry charm, and it's interesting to note that Robert Downey, Jr. was originally attached to the role.  I love RDJ, but he might have been a little too jokey.  Outside of Marion Cotillard, most of the names attached to Bullock's role I think would have been a mistake.  This is mainly due to the ages of the actors though.  I think I would have had a harder time buying into a twenty-something as an engineer/astronaut.  I felt Bullock was a natural in the role and her performance was great.  On a side note, Sandy's almost 50?  You wouldn't know it as there are some glory shots of her that really highlight how she's in killer shape, and it seemed to be saying, "Eat your heart out Jesse James!"

Gravity is a terrifying, intense visual masterpiece.  I can't think of a better looking film I've seen in the past few years.  It's expertly directed and acted, and is one of the top films of 2013.  This is one you don't want to miss on the big screen.

5 (out 5) Death Stars

Blowing my mind!

The Heat (2013)

The Heat is another film I haven't really been looking forward to.  I've been seeing trailers for this since maybe as early as last December, and it was the same, terrible trailer over and over.  I could tell even from the trailer that it was going to be an extremely predictable film.

Fifteen to twenty minutes into The Heat, I wasn't too optimistic that I was going to enjoy it.  I felt like they made Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy's characters so unlikeable that I didn't see how the film was going to have any redeeming qualities.  However, it was about that point that McCarthy had what seemed to be an unscripted rant, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Sarah Ashburn (Bullock) is an agent for the FBI.  She's good at what she does, but maybe a little too good.  She lacks humility, is a know-it-all, and rubs her success in the noses of her fellow agents.  As you may guess, nobody likes her, and her boss (Demián Bichir) tells her as much.  Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) is a Boston cop that's a borderline psychopath.  Everyone is afraid of her, despite her not being not much taller than Danny Devito.  If you cross her, then she berates you until you're a shell of yourself.

Ashburn in sent to Boston to investigate a drug lord.  She's forced to pair with Mullins as she knows the area and there's overlap in their current investigations.  The clearly don't like each other, but we all know that won't last.  This is a standard buddy cop movie as far as that goes.  The Heat focuses so much on their relationship that there's really not much of a story, and you never really feel any threat from the bad guys, or even really care about their investigation.

Instead, The Heat is more concerned with making you laugh and throwing out as many jokes as they can at you.  This is a comedy though. so that's kind of the point.  Like many comedies, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.  I laughed more than a few times, and the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves as well.  Most of the laughs are from Melissa McCarthy and the stream of profanity that comes from her.  Your enjoyment of The Heat is going to depend on if that kind of humor works for you.  I tend to like this kind of humor, but as much as I laughed, even I started to feel like it was a little too much as the film went on.

The Heat was written by Katie Dippold, who's a writer for Parks and Recreation, but this is her first feature. I've already mentioned a few issues with the story, but overall it is pretty predictable and cliched.  I don't mind that so much, as this type of movie is a pretty tried and true formula.  Predictability is fine if they do it well or the other elements of the film are strong.  I'm curious as to how much of Melissa McCarthy's performance was due to Dippold's script, or improv by McCarthy.

Overall, I thought Melissa McCarthy was really funny and really enjoyed her performance.  After the crap fest that was Identity Thief, I wasn't convinced she could carry a movie.  She did a great job though, and it felt like she was giving it her all.  My only complaint is that her performance was a little too 'one note' at times.  She seems to work well with director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) though, and he really let her go for it.

One of my complaints with Feig's direction is that he needed to cut this down.  Considering the lack of an original story, there's simply no reason for this to be almost two hours.  This should have been between 95 and 100 minutes at maximum.  It also would have helped with how repetitive it started to feel.

I thought Bullock's character was written a little inconsistently as well.  She seemed like too much of a goody two-shoes to be involved with law enforcement in the first place.  There are times where she's written as the smartest person in the room, yet is constantly outsmarted by McCarthy, or lacks common sense or basic social skills.  I didn't mind her performance overall though and her natural charm eventually shone through.  She got a few times to get some laughs herself.

A lot of the supporting performances were funny.  I was happy to see Bill Burr in this, but he's not given a lot of screen time.  Michael Rapaport is dependable as always.  Dan Bakkedahl had a couple of really funny moments as an albino DEA agent.  Tony Hale, Jane Curtin, Taran Killam, Micheal McDonald, Kaitlin Olson and Thomas F. Wilson (Biff from Back to the Future).  Ironically, Marlon Wayans has a small role where he plays it straight the whole time.  It's a strong overall cast where they all seem to have a good line or moment, but you wish they could have been in it more or given more opportunities to be funny.

The Heat is a predictable and cliched buddy cop movie, but it definitely has its moments.  Melissa McCarthy gives a funny performance, and Sandra Bullock plays a good "straight man" against her.  If you don't mind crass and vulgar humor, then this might be right up your alley.  This one's a good candidate for having a few beers before watching and catching it with a group of friends.

3 (out of 5) Death Stars - Matinee